which motor has all the stuff i want?

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riverduck

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Wasn't sure how else to title this post so here goes. Last year I bought my first motor, a 82 Suzuki Spirit 25hp. It took a lot of tinkering but eventually got up and running but was never as smooth as I wanted and I never felt like I could really trust it. Some was for sure the operator but I think in several ways I bought someone else's problems. To make a long stories short, at the end of the duck season last year I got swept in to some weedy shallow water in a head wind and the water intake got clogged and the motor overheated and she is fried now. So, I am in the hunt for another motor!

While I wished it wasn't so painful and expensive, I learned a lot about motors and exactly what I want in my next motor. So here is my wish list in some order of importance:

Domestic (Suzuki parts are a ***** to find and plenty expensive) so Merc, Johnson, Evinrude
Would like a easily seen tell tale to make sure I know if the intake is plugged (the Suzuki tell tale was low on the leg and when the motor was overheating I would have had to lean over the motor to see if water was coming out.
25 hp
tiller
long shaft
Would like an automatic shut off when the motor overheats but I am not sure when this started to become standard.
$1000-1200 max price.
1990-1999 year motor.
The motor is used a lot for duck hunting so it needs to be reliable and have a good manual tilt so I can shallow run (the Suzuki I had did not have tilt and I didn't know to look for that when I bought the motor)
2 stroke

I am looking for some expertise and opinion on what year, make, etc people think I should look for this time around. The most important thing is reliability as I can't be getting stuck out there when the weather turns to crap and the ducks are flying! Safety first!

thanks to all who help

Chris
 
A few years ago I baught a 1993 mariner 25hp(same thing as a mercury) and its been great. Pushes my 1648 with 2 batteries 2 big guys and gear at 28mph. Could go faster with a prop change if I really wanted. Parts are cheap and its easy to work on. When I baught it I put on new coils, plugs,wires, thermostat and waterpump all for about $250. It didnt necessarily need any of that but I did it for peace of mind. Honestly you cant go wrong with an early nineties mercury or yamaha. That same vintage evinrude/johnson may be just as good but I have no experience with them.
 
if u run in weedy spots u could run a pee hose up the side of your boat so u can see it peeing without turning around it does work pretty good
 
Might want to go with an air cooled engine. Something like a surface drive mud motor. There pretty much able to run through anything, plus if you get a Briggs and Stratton, Vanguard, or any other domestic brand, parts are cheap and easily available. I'm planning on building an air cooled outboard out of my old riding lawn mower engine, a 24hp Briggs and Stratton V twin. Local outboard mechanic/dealer has an 87 Suzuki 25hp with a fried power head; I'm thinking about using it for the lower unit and midsection mainly because I want/need neutral and reverse. My dad was the mastermind behind this project. (he just likes to tinker with things) These are just some more ideas to consider.
 
if you want a smooth running 25 hp with overheat protection, see if you can find a 3 cylinder 25 hp johnson. my 35 is so quiet at idle i can hear the tell tale hitting the water over the sound of the motor.
 

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